Since March 13, schools and many places of employment have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adults and kids alike use services such as Zoom and Google Hangouts to teach their students, attend classes and host business meetings. For many students and adults, this is a welcome change, and they have taken this new way of learning in stride. But for a lot of kids, it can be hard to manage everything at home.
My personal experience with Zoom and Google Hangouts is overall neutral. I find it easy to navigate classes, but organization of assignments becomes difficult with all the things I need to keep track of… I’m very grateful I can still continue my studies, and I appreciate all that my teachers have done for me. For the purpose of this blog post, I’ve talked to local friends and across the state and country to ask them about their experiences in virtual meetings. For many students, distance learning is a double edged sword, and there are both pros and cons to socially distanced school.
“School during quarantine has been a lot more stressful than regular school. Online school isn’t something I look forward to attending every morning, in fact it actually imposes a lot more stress, on me personally, than regular school. I am glad, however, that I still get to be in classes, and online school gives me more of a loose schedule. I am very grateful and appreciative of how hard my school is trying and I think they have improved on a multitude of things since the beginning of our journey through online learning.” - 8th Grader, Piedmont Middle School, CA
“I’m doing pretty okay. Though, it’s starting to get stressful and I really miss all of my family and friends. I appreciate how much my school is trying to make it seem like normal school even considering the circumstances.”- 9th Grader, Archer School for Girls, CA
“I have 9 periods in one day, but I don’t always have a class every period. I get my links and school work on a service called the hub. I have to scan my worksheets, then upload and submit them on the hub. Zoom school is going okay, though oftentimes I get kicked out or my teacher drops off the meeting due to internet connections and technical difficulties.”
- 7th Grader, Harvard Westlake, CA
“I am a social worker who would typically work primarily in Oakland and about once a week in Dublin. I now work entirely from home and am forced to meet with clients through calls and FaceTime or Zoom. My practice has shifted dramatically as a direct result of these changes. I am most effective with a different population that I typically work with. I am also juggling supporting two young children while my spouse & I both work full time, taking turns teaching preschool, first grade & managing our jobs. My job has also changed because I am working on referring homeless clients coming out of jail who are covid exposed into temporary housing paid for by the State.” - Social Worker, CA
“I’m homeschooled, but I take a couple of online classes as well. All my online classes have worked well, and I’m getting good grades. I pay attention, and life hasn’t changed for me as drastically as I’m sure it has for many other students.”- 6th Grader, IN
“My business shifted immediately to a work from home approach. All of our meetings are conducted by Zoom or Skype and I expect this trend to continue through the end of the year. I don’t miss the commute, or having to travel for work and love being around my kids all of the time. But now that we are all working from home, our work is more global and clients expect you to answer their emails or phone calls right away. I consistently work 10-12 hour days and the world is rapidly changing, through accelerated technological advancements and innovation at breakneck speed. The flow of information is overwhelming and the world never seems to stop. The biggest challenge is figuring out how to slow things down and breathe.”
- Senior Vice President, Finance, CA
“I’ve been doing pretty good with my virtual school. I like it because I get to work at my own pace and learn and solve problems using materials that I prefer. But it’s also annoying because we can’t do hands on projects or see each other in person. It’s also at times really stressful because of internet issues and glitches. So teachers and students are confused and irritable. But since we’ve almost been doing zoom for about 7-8 months I’ve sort of gotten used to it.”
- 7th Grader, Emerson Middle School Charter
“I am teaching online voice classes as well as socially distanced speech coaching during the pandemic. As a teaching artist, I am not allowed to teach in person currently. I live in Dallas and still maintain students that I have previously taught. I typically work at my piano using Zoom and a speaker to amplify music accompaniment. On my patio when I'm coaching I use two tables distanced to work on corporate presentations. I very much dislike that I can’t hear exactly the sound I need to hear over Zoom where singing is concerned, and that I cannot fully express my affection and pride for my students with hugs and high fives. But, I love the sharing and excitement students have because they are so eager to study.”- Vocal Artist, TX
“Due to school being online, and not being able to go anywhere, I’ve lost lots of my usual motivation. That causes the amount of schoolwork to seem like a lot more than it normally is, which causes me to become very stressed. I've tried to even it out by seeing people I love, but it normally makes everything pile up even more.” - 8th Grader, Julia Morgan School for Girls, CA
I conclude that a pattern presents itself here, and it is apparent that the biggest struggle for most people is finding balance between work and rest. The answer is not so definitive now that all those things take place in the same space, without an explicit time for relaxation. What we can try to do is set aside time, even just for a few minutes, to slow down and be calm. Go to grab a drink of water, walk around the house, even just sit there. It’s important to not lose ourselves in all the chaos, and take time to connect with family and friends.